Randy’s Civic Adventure

I bounced out of bed this morning with purpose, with anticipation of my meeting with Senator Bill Nelson. (Okay, I figured I would see a staff person- not the man himself-but one can dream) The Obama Community Organizers (Mitch Stewart) mislabeled me as a left minded person to “organize” with a scheduled meeting with the democratic senator who represents Florida. Possibly to help ease his (Senator Nelson’s) mind that he should follow the party line on the volatile issue that has polarized the nation. They emailed me the talking points -and a quick click to arrange the meeting. I am, without a doubt, perplexed by the error- as I am with the direction of the Health Care Reform that seems to be stream rolling from the white house. I want to be fair- I want to understand. But I am a conservative. I want to slow this down before we start doing something “stupid”. But I accepted the opportunity. Heck, Senator Nelson did raise his hand to represent me as well.

Braving the rush hour Tampa traffic, I arrived downtown silently cursing my GPS (Dora the Explorer) for not being updated-there’s a lot of new construction that caused me to twist and turn about. After parking on the street- adding an hour to a meter with 45 minutes) I had an initial false start (according to the Marshall’s you cannot bring a cell phone or GPS into a federal building) Returning my cell phone to the mustang- I entered the surprisingly tranquil cool building- I made my way to the Senator’s offices. No news crews, no angry throngs of well-appointed country club type Nazi’s (thank you Speaker Pelosi).... just a young woman who apparently had been left alone to fend off the wild crowds. At that moment, that would have been just me.

Apparently Senator Nelson was out of the country on a Senate Intelligence Committee Meeting... I found out later that no one at his office was privy to the secretive location- especially the lone young lady at the reception desk, Melissa. Actually, because she was the only person there it IS possible that some valued staffers somewhere in Florida know his whereabouts. But I guess they were all on holiday -acknowledged Gil McCormack sarcastic term- while the Senator slaved away in search of intelligence.

There is no truth to the rumor that Senator Bill Nelson was protecting us as a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee in meetings held at Lake Como, along side Brad and Angelina, or George Clooney’s summer homes. I am sure that Continental Airlines was the carrier of choice for this committee- not some decked out G-5 (aka out of touch auto executive style).

So, I was handed a form to fill out, (compliments of Obama.com) so the Senator could read in my own words my very important thoughts and concerns on this pressing issue- and vote accordingly. I could, Melissa suggested somewhat anxiously, fax it back if I preferred. Being retired and in a cool comfortable place, I declined and decided to sit there and compose my numerous random impulses into some legible format. While there I did see three other people arrive, to encourage Bill to fight the evil conservative rats that have dared to speak their mind.

I listened to a couple –a Doctor and his wife, who felt that they should actually verbalize their message to poor strickened Melissa at the desk- surely when Bill returns Melissa would recount their words in a private meeting with Senator Bill-with the verbal passion they displayed. I wrote on the form that Melissa needed a raise. Pro Obama health care. They mentioned how hard it was for their son- who they had to put on their business healthcare plan as a “part-time” employee so he could buy affordable health care- it was not available to him as a free lancer. I thought briefly about the choices we make with our career and all- the sacrifices, and I thought just a little bit about insurance fraud. Mentioning tort reform, the doctor suggested that malpractice insurance was not an issue. I wondered if he was available for a spine alignment- making a rash judgment call, as I am prone to do...

The other was a man who waited patiently to speak to Melissa as well.

I completed my form and passed it to Melissa while the three guest stood there and radiated positive energy into the room. Notifying the Marshall on my exit that I caused no disruption- they could stand down. He smiled.

One hour and seventeen minutes on the meter.

I will let you know what I hear from Senator Bill when he returns. Last response to my fax on the stimulas was a note on what he was doing for the light houses of Florida.

Hope his search for intelligence is successful.

Tomorrow the beach.

God Bless.